


Epiphany

by deathishauntedbyhumans



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: (because there's never enough of that), F/M, James is BESIDE HIMSELF, James is a Dork, Jily with a side of Wolfstar, Lily has emotions, M/M, Marauders, Marauders' Era, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Quidditch, Remus just wants to go make out with his boyfriend, Sirius is perpetually confused, also a whiny baby but that's beside the point
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-21
Updated: 2017-03-21
Packaged: 2018-10-08 18:42:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10393659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deathishauntedbyhumans/pseuds/deathishauntedbyhumans
Summary: Lily and James have a tentative... friendship... thing, going on. So why does Lily keep getting bloody butterflies in her stomach whenever he grins at her with that stupid goddamn grin?





	

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter. Duh.
> 
> Summary: Lily really hates arguing with herself... So she finally comes to the inevitable decision.
> 
> A/N: Jily, obviously. A side of Wolfstar because I couldn't help myself, frankly.  
> \---
> 
> Moving things over from FF.net--enjoy my old writing, my dudes, dudettes, and nonbinary peeps!

Lily Evans hated arguing with herself. She hated it even more than she hated James bloody Potter, the only person who could make her so flustered and unsure of her own motives at times. James Potter, with his arrogance and his hair and his glasses… And that smile… That gorgeous smile… Whenever she caught herself thinking about him, a wave of pleasure and disgust and loathing and lust would sweep through her, confusing her and pissing her off at the same time.

In their sixth year, James finally managed to calm his ego and become a decent (or, halfway decent, at least) human being. He and Lily formed a tentative friendship, which was based on a mutual agreement between the two of them that James would refrain from making any and all dramatic declarations of love, and Lily would refrain from hexing him every time they spoke. It seemed to work rather well, until the day Lily realised that it really, really didn't.

\---

It was on a seemingly normal day in the middle of their sixth year when Lily had her epiphany. She was sitting on a chair in the Common Room, attempting to study while Marlene flirted openly with Remus. The latter was looking entirely unfazed by her blatant attempts, and they were minding their own business until Lily gasped and turned positively white, dropping her quill with a quiet thump onto the ground.

Marlene glanced over at her first. "You okay, Lily?" she asked, her eyebrows raising and voice quirking upwards in question. Lily blinked, her eyes slightly unfocused, and then looked sharply at Marlene.

"Y-Yeah. Fine," she said, standing abruptly and nearly trodding on her quill. Remus, too, then looked concerned.

"Are you sure, Lils?" he asked. She merely nodded in response.

"I just… Need to get something from upstairs," she lied slowly. Marlene nodded, satisfied with the answer, and immediately turned back to Remus in order to pester him some more. Remus kept a concerned gaze on Lily as she turned to leave, and then sighed with a Sirius-esque dramatic air as he looked back to Marlene, informing her for the millionth time that he had a very happy relationship going, and though he was flattered by the offer, his boyfriend wouldn't be much pleased with the two of them going on a date.

Lily couldn't even be bothered to roll her eyes as she hurried away from the table, rushing up the stairs and into her own dorm. Once inside, she sunk down onto her bed, her head in her hands despairingly. Out of all the students in all the school in all of bloody England…

"Why does it have to be him?"

\---

Lily didn't act on her new revelation until after a Quidditch match a few weeks later. Gryffindor had flattened Ravenclaw, and even though it was pouring outside, she waited for James outside under the stands near the locker rooms, her stomach buzzing nervously at what she was planning to do.

"Suck it up, Evans," she muttered to herself as she pushed her wet red hair out of her face.

When she spotted James's swaggering figure making its way from the locker room, she slipped out from under the stands, taking a steadying breath.

"Oi, Potter!"

Obviously not expecting the call of his name, James jumped, looking around with wide eyes and then relaxing when he realised who had called his name.

"Oh… Hey, Lils," he said, and for the first time in forever she didn't smack him for using the nickname he'd stolen from Remus. "What's up?"

"I wanted to congratulate you… You played really well." Lily twirled a piece of hair around her finger absently, and James blinked in surprise. Even with their whole mutual friendship... thing, Lily never usually went out of her way to be so nice to him like that.

"Well… thanks," he said, flashing an almost awkward smile at her. Lily smiled back, and before she could talk herself out of it, pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek.

"I'll meet you in the common room after I get changed," she told him, knowing that his friends (and the whole house, more than likely) would have organised some sort of celebration party. She grinned widely at the shocked look on his face and gave a small wave before turning and rushing off towards the inside of the castle. James stayed where he was, a hand on his cheek in surprise, and Lily glanced back at him before she made it inside. She was going to enjoy this almost as much as she used to enjoy cursing James into oblivion. If she had to be in love with James Potter, she was going to have fun with it, damn it! 

\---

The party was in full swing by the time Lily finally made her way downstairs to the Common Room, having jumped in the shower and then properly dried herself off again. She looked around for James and eventually spotted speaking to Sirius and Remus, and still looking fairly drowned. As she drifted closer, she had to put a hand over her mouth to hide a laugh at their topic of conversation.

"—kissed me, Pads! I swear to Merlin, it actually happened!"

Sirius rolled his eyes, about to retort, and then a smirk made its way onto his features.

"Ah, if it isn't our precious Lilykins," he drawled, looking at her as she perched lightly on the arm of James' chair. Only Remus seemed to notice the fond look in her eyes as she gazed at James before turning her eyes towards Sirius.

"Black," she greeted coolly. She tossed a small smile in Remus' direction, and blushed when the auburn-haired boy arched his eyebrows in an incriminating manner.

"Evans. Jamie here seems to have been hit with one too many bludgers during the game, and is under the deluded impression that you showed him some sort of--" And here, he batted his eyelashes and pitched his voice comically low. "-- _romantic affection_."

"She did!" James broke in imploringly, but shut up quickly when Lily laid a hand gently on his arm.

"I did," she clarified with a smirk. Sirius' mouth fell open, and Remus began to laugh quietly at the expressions on both Sirius' and James' faces.

James was the first to gather himself. "I told you!" he said triumphantly. Sirius blinked, still looking shocked, and then turned to look at Remus, who was still laughing.

"Did you know he was actually _not_ shitting us?" he demanded, and Remus shook his head, attempting to compose himself.

"No… Not until now. But come on, we all knew it was going to happen eventually. I think there's a bet going in every year."

Lily shrugged in a guilty-as-charged kind of gesture, and James looked both incredibly shocked and immensely pleased. Remus laughed again and stood up, easily tugging Sirius up with him.

"C'mon, Padfoot."

"Where're we going?" Sirius whined in complaint as Remus fairly dragged him off. Remus gave a response that Lily couldn't catch, and all she could see was the smirk mirrored on both of their faces before they disappeared from her sight. She turned back to James, who was still looking pleased and hopeful.

"So…"

Lily pulled out her wand, laughing softly. "You're soaked, you know," she informed him, pointing the wand at him and muttering a spell to dry him off. James flinched and then flushed when he realised what she'd done.

"Thanks… Sorry, for flinching. Habit."

Lily shrugged it off. "I don't blame you. Not like I ever gave you any reason to think I'd do anything nice." She put her wand away and then slipped her hand into James', who looked utterly thrilled. "I like you better when you're not about to catch your death from the rain."

"I didn't realise you cared," James said, his voice teasing. A note of truth ran through it, though, and he cocked his head a bit to the side.

"I didn't, much, before? But then I realised you aren't such an arrogant toerag anymore." James broke into a plain old grin, and opened his mouth to speak. Before he could, however, Lily had pecked him lightly on the lips.

"Keep your ego down," she teased gently, and James stared at her before promptly pulling her into a proper kiss. When they'd separated, he grinned at her, both of them panting softly for breath.

"I've been waiting forever to do that," he admitted in a murmur, and she laughed softly amidst the hoots and hollers from anyone in the Common Room that had been paying attention.

"Yeah," she murmured, kissing him again. "I know."

**Author's Note:**

> Hope that wasn't TOO awful. Thanks for reading! Comments/Kudos are love!! <3


End file.
